Segment… not Slice & Dice

We spent last week exhibiting at Marketing Sherpa’s Email Summit in Miami and one of the major questions we received from eMarketers was about Segmentation – mainly how to stand out in the inbox. A natural question due to the emphasis placed on email marketing as everyone looks for ways to control costs and measure ROI.

Segmentation is truly an art; if you’re not careful you could simply be slicing and dicing your list without even realizing it. Don’t get me wrong, random splits play their part, but for effective segmentation you really need to incorporate elements of relevance to the recipient. As an eMarketer we know which recipients are prospects and which are customers, we know who is engaged and who is non-responsive – to get to the next level you have to get personal. Well segmented campaigns have to meet the needs of the recipient, incorporate their survey responses, follow their behaviors (Reverse Preferences) and then make an effort at responding to those needs…

We spent last week exhibiting at Marketing Sherpa’s Email Summit in Miami and one of the major questions we received from eMarketers was about Segmentation – mainly how to stand out in the inbox. A natural question due to the emphasis placed on email marketing as everyone looks for ways to control costs and measure ROI.

Segmentation is truly an art; if you’re not careful you could simply be slicing and dicing your list without even realizing it. Don’t get me wrong, random splits play their part, but for effective segmentation you really need to incorporate elements of relevance to the recipient. As an eMarketer we know which recipients are prospects and which are customers, we know who is engaged and who is non-responsive – to get to the next level you have to get personal. Well segmented campaigns have to meet the needs of the recipient, incorporate their survey responses, follow their behaviors (Reverse Preferences) and then make an effort at responding to those needs.

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